Nine years after Adam Lallana came to Liverpool from Southampton, his current Brighton teammate Alexis Mac Allister could also be set to swap the south coast for Merseyside.
The 24-year-old has reached a ‘full agreement’ with the Reds and could be on the cusp of finalising his move to Anfield, as per a tweet from Fabrizio Romano on Monday.
Back in January, the former LFC midfielder spoke with Graham Hunter on the type of player his younger colleague has been for the Seagulls, having been wowed by the Argentine during his country’s World Cup triumph the previous month.
Lallana said of Mac Allister: “He’s so pure how he plays, the way he lends the football, he uses others. There’s no selfishness at all in the way he plays.
“It was so special watching him during the World Cup, not playing to begin with, then him getting used and then proving himself and playing so well that there’s no way this guy doesn’t play. Then at the end, to see Messi looking for him. Like, Messi was looking for him to link, to play…
“Alexis’ role is almost to mirror where Messi was. When Messi was deep, he’d take higher positions. When Messi was high, he’d drop. That just shows how much he understands.
“OK, he’s not the quickest or the strongest, but it doesn’t matter, because up here [points to forehead] he’s like Modric. He’s so smart. He knows that the football is faster than anyone or anything. Alexis is of that ilk.”
It was a telling insight from Lallana into the qualities that Mac Allister possesses, and hopefully we’ll soon see those qualities being flaunted in a Liverpool shirt.
When names like Lionel Messi and Luka Modric get mentioned in describing his style of play, that’s an extremely good sign.
You can see the video of Lallana discussing his Brighton teammate below, via The Big Interview with Graham Hunter on YouTube: